CHAPTER 405: CHAPTER 405: NO COURTESY

As soon as Paige Sterling entered, she saw Mrs. Hawthorne lying weakly on the bed, with Dora Upton sitting beside her saying comforting words.

Paige entered and greeted, "Auntie, are you feeling better?"

Mrs. Hawthorne sneered, "My son married a troublesome wife who treats me, her mother-in-law, as a mere ornament. How could I possibly feel better?"

Paige said, "Then Julian really shouldn’t have done that. How could he be so thoughtless? I’ll scold her for you later, Auntie, don’t be angry."

Mrs. Hawthorne and Dora were taken aback by Paige’s shamelessness, which only further infuriated Mrs. Hawthorne.

Dora said, "You’re the one who upset my aunt like this! How can you have the nerve to say such things?"

Paige raised an eyebrow, "How did I upset Auntie? Auntie, tell me, and I’ll definitely change," she said earnestly.

Seeing her feign innocence, Mrs. Hawthorne glared at her, "I’ve said that as a daughter-in-law of The Hawthorne Family, you must stay home to support your husband and teach your children, not show yourself outside. Why have you ignored my words? Are you deliberately opposing me?"

Paige replied, "Auntie, I haven’t."

"Then why don’t you let Julian handle the company affairs?"

Paige said, "I’m certainly willing, but transitioning also takes time. These days, I’ve been coordinating with Julian for the transition, Auntie, you’ve really misunderstood me."

"Stop deceiving me; if you were really willing, it would be a day’s work! You’ve married into The Hawthorne Family, yet your heart isn’t here, not with my son; you simply don’t trust him!"

Paige replied, "If that’s how you want to think, Auntie, then there’s nothing I can do."

Seeing Paige’s indifferent demeanor again, Mrs. Hawthorne was so angry that she wanted to slap her.

Every time she racked her brain trying to trouble Paige, Paige would end up like this, making Mrs. Hawthorne feel like a fool.

Looking at Paige’s face, inherited from her parents’ good genes, Mrs. Hawthorne’s face twisted with rage.

"Do you think I don’t know what your Sterling Family is up to? Not a single good person in your family! Especially you, just like your parents, complete scoundrels! Your wretched mother died, leaving behind a little scoundrel to torment me, and your father..."

However, before she finished speaking, Mrs. Hawthorne’s face was suddenly slapped.

It was a heavy slap, and half of Mrs. Hawthorne’s face swelled visibly.

Mrs. Hawthorne was dumbfounded, utterly disbelieving.

Paige dared to hit her? She was Paige’s mother-in-law, how outrageous this woman was.

"You, you, you actually dared to hit me..."

Dora was also too shocked to speak; she never expected Paige would dare hit her aunt.

Was Paige not planning to stay with Julian?

She wanted to say something, but looking at Paige’s cold expression, she found herself unable to speak.

Paige looked coldly at Mrs. Hawthorne.

Whenever she recalled the scene she witnessed years ago in the villa area with little Julian, she wanted to hit Mrs. Hawthorne.

Now Mrs. Hawthorne was insulting her parents; how could she tolerate that?

Though Mrs. Hawthorne was Julian’s mother, bonded by blood, Paige had no such ties.

"Auntie, I’m really sorry, I just can’t control my hands at times, I’ll work on it..."

Her attitude was utterly reprehensible.

Mrs. Hawthorne pointed at Paige, "You, you..."

"Auntie, don’t look at me like that," Paige grasped Mrs. Hawthorne’s chin, "The more you look at me this way, the more pleased I feel. What you most dislike is seeing me doing well, right?"

Mrs. Hawthorne glared at Paige. She wanted to strike back, but Paige’s grip on her chin left her immobile.

Dora stood up, "Paige, you’re insane! You must be out of your mind; I’m going to tell our cousins!"

Dora ran out, trying to find Julian and Simon, wanting them to see just how vicious Paige was.

But after shouting for a long time, she didn’t see either of them.

Meanwhile, in the room, Paige had already sat down, observing Mrs. Hawthorne.

The smile on her face, in Mrs. Hawthorne’s eyes, seemed like scorn.

Mrs. Hawthorne had never suffered such humiliation, wishing she could kill Paige.

Paige said nonchalantly, "I only slapped you, yet you’re this furious. Julian was locked up and beaten by you back then; did you ever consider his feelings?"

Mrs. Hawthorne stared at Paige in shock, "Did Julian tell you all this?"

Julian even told Paige about these things? But he was her son; what of a few beatings?

Mrs. Hawthorne didn’t think she did anything wrong.

Paige, however, shook her head at Mrs. Hawthorne, "No, I saw it myself."

Paige showed an evil smile, "Auntie, don’t you remember me? When you abused your own son back then, have you forgotten how it was exposed?"

Mrs. Hawthorne’s eyes slowly widened, "It was you!"

The little girl who called the police! She almost died at her hands back then, but people suddenly came...

"Yes, it was me..."

Mrs. Hawthorne gritted her teeth, "I truly regret not killing you then!"

If she had known the little girl was Jared Sullivan’s daughter, she should have killed her without hesitation.

If Paige had died early, she wouldn’t have been this infuriated today.

Her hatred for Paige was utterly unabated.

Paige said lightly, "I have long since investigated your past thoroughly, and I’m well aware of what kind of person you are, so Auntie, there’s no need to pretend in front of me..."

"You dared to investigate me!"

"Auntie, don’t think of it that way. Wanting to investigate you is nothing difficult, it’s not a matter of daring; you dislike me because your first love tried to kidnap my mother and was ultimately killed by my father. Ultimately, it’s his ill intentions that led to that outcome. You resent the Sterling Family for such a matter, dragging The Hawthorne Family into it; in this sense, Auntie, you truly are a remarkable woman..."

"But what I admire even more is how ruthless Auntie can be towards her own son. They say even tigers don’t eat their cubs, but Auntie, you surprise me greatly. I witnessed you strangling Julian with wire and injecting him with drugs... For the pain he suffered, I indeed want you to experience it too. Earlier, Auntie was abroad, so I had no opportunity. Unexpectedly, you came back on your own..."

At this moment, Mrs. Hawthorne looked at Paige as if she was a monster.

"But strangling with wire is too risky; my grip is strong, I might accidentally strangle you to death..."

Saying this, she pulled out a syringe and a bottle of injector fluid from her bag.

"But injecting Auntie with something, perhaps no one would notice. Even if they notice some abnormal reactions post-injection, I could say Auntie is having an allergic reaction. After all, the same symptoms happen to Julian when he has an allergy, Auntie experiencing them is perfectly normal..."

Paige casually drew the liquid into the syringe, her expression cold, as Mrs. Hawthorne trembled all over.

Paige continued, "Oh, this drug is the same one Auntie injected into Julian before. I went through a lot of trouble to obtain it. Auntie, see how kind I am to you? Aren’t you grateful to me?"

Mrs. Hawthorne’s expression had turned to sheer terror.

"No, impossible, how could you get that drug..."

"Why couldn’t I? Given my connections, obtaining such a drug is no challenge. In the future, I can make sure Auntie enjoys its benefits every day..."

Mrs. Hawthorne was extremely terrified.

"No, no, no, stay away..."

Paige’s expression turned even colder.

Seeing Mrs. Hawthorne’s terrified appearance confirmed she knew the drug’s effects all along; she had intended to turn her son into a monster.

If Julian hadn’t had a strong immune system and the drug hadn’t been immature at the time, he wouldn’t have survived to this day.

With this woman, Paige had no intention to hold back.